Fort Stanton Cave Study Project in the NEWS

2024 Calendar & others available HERE
2019 Calendar During most of 2018 the Snowy River section of the cave was closed while we waited for the soft calcite floor to dry out enough for limited travel. Fortunately in September and October it was sufficiently dry and several "Strong & Light" teams were able to explore three different upper levels over Snowy River that led to additional beautiful passages. We used some of their photos plus others in the rest of the cave for our limited edition of the 2019 Calendar. The composite picture at the right shows some of the photographs from the 2019 Calendar which is often on sale at the Fort Stanton Museum around Christmas. All but two of the images on the right show new 'virgin passage' just discovered in 2018.

The 12 Miles From Daylight book was published in June 2017 and was first offered at the NSS Convention held in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, as well as the International ICS Convention a month later in Australia. Multiple presentations have been given by FSCSP members that have shown the caving public details from this book. Awards have been given and the most recent award was the NSS Certificate of Merit which was awarded at the 2018 NSS Convention. Currently this book is out of print. (You might get lucky and find one on eBay.)
The name of the book comes from the distance explorers walk, climb and crawl from the entrance of the cave to the far reaches of Snowy River on the southern end. The small thumbnail photos below show some of the neat areas.
Click on the map to see a larger image-->

Take a look at ICS Exploration Award page and related information from the ICS & NSS meetings and other articles!
Cave study volunteer honored by BLM National Award Copy of Zine May 14, 2013 article. Cave radio team (L-R: R. Harris, J. Lyles, Jim Cox & B. Kendrick). The beacon antenna is on the cave floor behind the group.		On the day before the award presentation, Jim Cox was part of the in-cave radio beacon team (see photo on left) supported by this surface team of volunteers. Some of the surface gear may be seen in the truck on the left. Bob and Deb Buecher (standing on the right) constructed the specialized equipment that provided enhanced survey precision seven miles from the cave entrance. Following the April-May 2013 FSCSP expedition, the length of the cave was 23.8 miles, making it 21st on the list of the Longest Caves in the US!
Ruidoso News: Cave study project receives conservation award Ruidoso Free Press, or scanned		Fort Stanton Cave Project Receives National Conservation Leadership Award from the CLF (Conservation Lands Foundation)
		Fort Stanton Cave Project Receives Lincoln County Award: 10th Anniversary of the Snowy River Discovery
Ruidoso News: The Youngest Caver Lincoln County 150 Years!
FSCSP Scientist Receives 2011 National Speleological Society Science Award Shown here in Snowy River measuring survey distances with a laser range-finder, John McLean is best known for his many years of geophysical measurements including gravity and resistivity surveys. These measurements have allowed discovery of new cave passages before actual exploration underground.
FSCSP Receives Assistance Agreement as a Challenge Cost Share program. This article mentions that FSCSP volunteer hours and work sometimes adds up to more than 12,000 hours annually. It also mentions networking with the Government Services Division of the State of New Mexico towards a "green" improvement to the Bunkhouse which the FSCSP Project, with other users including the BLM, use during the year. The improvement in energy efficiency will pay back the cost of the work.		Ruidoso News "Cavers' patience rewarded"
FSCSP Assists BLM in Receiving State of New Mexico Bunkhouse Renovation. The article mentions both the Cost Share Assistance Agreement with the BLM and the Bunkhouse renovations. It mentions in detail some of the scientific research performed by the volunteer FSCSP group.		Ruidoso Free Press "Fort Stanton Cave Study Project hits two home runs"
Our Director of Public Relations Liaison , Lynda Sánchez, has written many articles about the Fort Stanton Cave Study Project for various publications. The example on the right appeared in the LINKS Newsletter of the New Mexico Association of Museums. The Fort Stanton Museum, located on the Quadrangle at the Fort, has a "cave room" dedicated to the surrounding BLM Fort Stanton - Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area (NCA). The display in this room was prepared by the Roswell Field Office of the BLM with assistance from local photographer David Tremblay and members of the FSCSP team. In addition, FSCSP team members, who were also members of the Southwestern Region (SWR) of the National Speleological Society, acted as key organizers in restoring the 2nd floor balcony railings on one of the buildings on the Fort Stanton Quadrangle. This Restoration Project was completed in March, 2012, just in time for the 50th Anniversary of the New Mexico SWR cavers. "From Cavers to Carpenters..." demonstrated the wide variety of talents offered by cavers in New Mexico.